A New Beginning
by Pendragon's Girl
Summary: this takes place before, during and after the "Rescue Gaara" arc of the story-line. Enjoy!
1. Reasons for Everything

Tsunami Myakka

Genin / O+

0127056

4'9" (145.3 cm)

86 lbs (39 kg)

August 10 (Leo)

Selfish, Smart, Willing to fight

Chapter 1 – Reasons for Everything

Shifting his headband nervously, Taku Umami looked about ready to pee in his pants. Kyo Takau, my other team mate, smirked as I loaded my slingshot with a chalk dust laden eraser. Ever since the war with Orochimaru and the loss of her uncle, Hana Byakuya was always as late as Kakashi Hatake. Only recently promoted to Jounin, Hana was just under Kurenai Yuhi on the career ladder.

"Ever since he died, she's been late," I said around my ammo. "I say we let her know how much we hate having to wait for our teacher. What do you say, guys?"

"But, Tsunami…"

Taku, my ever practical team mate, tried to stop me from following through on my plan to give Hana a face-full of chalk dust. Sure enough, just when Hana's head peeked around the doorframe, I let loose my ammunition. It hit her right in the middle of her forehead.

"Tsunami Myakka! No lunch for two days and you will clean the Great Stone Faces for the next three! Do you understand me, young lady?"

I groaned. Kyo smirked at my punishment and Taku attempted to stifle a laugh. I turned on my heel to glare at them. Kyo, smirk still in place, rolled his eyes and Taku completely lost all control.

"You can help her, Taku, if you don't stop laughing," she added. "It seems that Naruto Uzumaki has gotten a hold of some paint and was at his crazy antics again. I don't see why Iruka-sensei lets that boy loose as often as he does."

"But, Hana-sensei," Taku whined. "Why do we have to clean the Hokage Faces? Why can't Iruka-sensei get Naruto-chan to do it? Not only that, but when do the REAL missions start?"

"I'm not in the mood," Hana answered. "Besides, Naruto is your senior by at least two years and Iruka-sensei has other business for him to attend to other than cleaning up after himself between his own missions. Like helping to get back Gaara-sama from the Akatsuki. However, I will treat you three to ramen for dinner if you get done before sunset."

We cheered at the thought of getting ramen if we finished cleaning up Naruto-chan's mess on the Great Stone Faces. I saw Hana-sensei smile at our enthusiasm. I raced out first followed closely by my team mates, my Jounin teacher bringing up the rear and shutting the door behind her.

"Remember," Hana-sensei called, "the sooner you get done, the sooner we can get to Ichiraku before he shuts up for the night."

With my close relationship to Naruto-chan, I turned and began to walk backwards. I smiled at my team mates before proposing an idea that might make it go faster. I proposed that we use the Doppelganger Jutsu to help us get the five faces clean. That actually got a mischievous smile out of Kyo and a quietly mad cackle out of Taku.

"Hey, Hana-sensei," I called back to my teacher. "Is it all right if we use the Doppelganger Jutsu to help with the cleaning? It'll go three times faster that way, right?"

"I guess it could work," she replied. "As long as you three don't get distracted by it. Other than that, forget it! Kyo, what are you smiling about now? And quite your mad cackling, Taku! It's annoying as it is!"

Taku almost immediately shut up while Kyo tried to regain his breath from all the silent laughing he was doing. After another minute or so, he finally had enough breath to explain why he was smiling and silently laughing.

"The way she said it, Sensei," he panted at last. "The look in her eye gave it all away! Just like Naruto-san. Right, Tsunami?"

I smiled at Hana-sensei and nodded vigourously while still walking backwards. I knew that the stairs leading to the Great Stone Faces were close, so I turned around and began climbing. I looked up at the Faces as I climbed and sure enough, there was Naruto-chan's handiwork. Just as we reached the halfway point in the stairwell, there were shouts and catcalls coming from the village below. Hana-sensei would have been down there except for the fact that she had the three of us to worry about.

"As soon as we reach the top, each one of you needs to grab three buckets," she explained. "Then, I only want to see THREE of each of you until this monument is clean. Understood?" We nodded. "Good."

I knew that she was aiming the emphasized 'three' at me because of my relationship with Naruto. After another half hour of climbing, we were finally at the top. By the time Hana-sensei joined us, Taku and Kyo were already duplicated and grabbing buckets from the stack that our teacher had waiting for us. I was about to join my comrades when she stopped me.

"Hey, Tsunami," she called. "I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute."

Taku and Kyo disappeared over the edge of the first two Hokage faces while I stayed behind and allowed my two Clones to vanish.

"What's up, Sensei?"

"Well, I've been thinking a lot about a certain something for a while," she started. "It's about Naruto-san and all the things that he's been through in the last 15 years. I know that he talks more to you and Iruka-sensei more than anyone else in the entire village. I also know that you never really got along with your family before you ran away. So I was mainly wondering what it was like to grow up without the love of a real family. I mean, I'm only curious about it, that's all."

"It's hard to explain, Sensei," I answered. "Have you tried talking to Iruka-sensei about it? I'm sure that he will be able to relate the details better than I ever will. So am I allowed to go help my team mates now?"

Hana-sensei nodded. I reduplicated myself and flew over the edge of Tsunade-sensei's carved face.

About two hours later, we were all sitting at the Ichiraku Ramen Shop. I had just told a joke that got Taku laughing and caused Kyo to turn beet red with embarassment. I saw Sensei roll her eyes before she picked up the scroll that was left at her right elbow. She opened it slowly. After reading through it quickly, her eyes widened before she told us what was going on.


	2. Team Sakura Flies into Action

Chapter 2 – Team Sakura Flies into Action

"Hey, Knuckleheads," Sensei stated. "Mission time. Go and pack some BARE necessities. We're leaving at dawn for this one."

We finished our ramen before racing in two different directions. Taku went one way while Kyo and I went in the opposite direction. Kyo stopped running at the Yamanaka Flower Shop while I continued to sprint toward the house that I was sharing with the Sarutobi family. Just when I thought I was safe to sneak in the front door, Tamashi grabbed me in a big bear hug and swung me around in the street.

"Uh, Tamashi-san," I wheezed. "I would like to breath once in a while you know. Besides, I have to go pack for a mission that starts at dawn."

"Sorry, 'Nami," he replied. "I just find it so hard to let you go after the last 5 years. Yasu and Edo are home. Yuki is about to start making dinner. And make sure to tell that Umami friend of yours that he has my blessing to date and marry you when the time comes."

I rolled my eyes and made my way to the kitchen. I kissed Yuki on the cheek and gave Edo and Yasu each a high five. Edo had a laundry basket full of clean laundry at his feet. I rummaged through it to find at least five or six pairs of underwear and two of my favorite outfits. My other, younger adopted brother, Ryuichi, was already a Chunin and Iruka-sensei's teaching assistant. And being that I didn't see him around, I took a wild guess that he was still at the Academy helping Iruka-sensei grade papers and sort the newly promoted Genins into their squads and assign them a Jounin teacher.

"I'm guessing that you heard me tell Tamashi-san about my mission that starts at dawn? I already ate by the way, so I'll just go ahead and go pack. I'm not sure when I'll be back but it shouldn't take too long for us to do this particular mission. Especially with me on the case. Right, Yasu?"

Yasu nodded. Yasu was my favorite brother. At 24, Yasu was tall, thin and tan with blondish brown hair, blue-green eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across his nose. I raced off to the room that I shared with Yasu and Edo. I grabbed my pack out of the closet and began arranging my clothing in it. When I was finally satisfied with the way things were arranged, I set it by the door. Then I grabbed one of Yasu's Icha Icha books before plopping down on my bed.

"Hey, 'Nami. You had better not be reading one of my Icha Icha books. If you are, PUT IT BACK!"

I pulled out an old book cover from a romance novel and covered my current read with it. I quickly made a hand sign (singlehandedly, mind you) and cast one of my favorite Genjutsus on my brothers. I smiled at my accomplishment before returning to were I had left off the night before.

"Hey, Yasu. Can I borrow your IIT while I'm gone? I'll be bored and I'll need something to do! Please?"

"Well," he said from the doorway, "for one thing, you're too young to be reading stuff like that. And secondly, Mom and Dad think that it will forever damage your psyche. Why don't you take one of your precious medical jutsu books instead?"

I knew that meant that I could "borrow" it until I got back from my mission. I mentally thanked Yasu for understanding my love of the Icha Icha series written by the Ero-Sennin himself, Jiraiya-sensei. _Thank you for giving me Yasu. He is truly the best brother anyone can have right now!_


	3. Dawn Arrives

Chapter 3 – Dawn Arrives

Dawn the next morning came too soon for me as I left the house that I had shared with my adopted family for the last 7 years of my life. I waved goodbye to Yasu, Edo, Yuki-san and Tamashi-san before making my way to the entrance of the Academy. I hated early mornings as much as anybody else but I knew that I had to be up like this for certain missions. This one was no different.

I saw Taku and Kyo already waiting for Sensei. I rolled my eyes when I was close enough for my team mates to see the small gesture. We all knew that Sensei was at the memorial stone wondering what she could have done differently to save Sarutobi-sama.

"Why can't Sensei get over the fact that there was nothing she could have done for Lord Hokage? I mean I know that she misses him but come on! She said to be here at dawn and we are. So where is she? I can't believe this."

Classical Kyo. Always finding something to complain about. Be it Sensei or something else.

"Did either one of you nerds get any info on what this mission is about?" Taku asked.

I shook my head as did Kyo. I would have remembered something if Sensei had told us what the mission was about. Just as I was about to say something, I felt a slight breeze as Sensei practically teleported to the area behind me. I swung around and almost got a punch in when I realized that it wasn't HANA-sensei but KAKASHI-sensei. He managed to catch my hand before it made contact and twist my arm behind my back, causing me to yelp in pain.

"ALRIGHT! UNCLE! I GIVE!"

He let me go as I stumbled to where my team mates were standing, rubbing my sore shoulder and glaring at the former teacher of the infamous Squad 7. The mask covering the lower half of his face always made me wonder what was really underneath. I saw his visible right eye squint up in his version of a smile as he looked at the 3 of us.

"Hana wanted me to bring you up to date on this mission that you received yesterday evening. So basically you will be sent to look over Lord Kazekage until you're further notified. After that you will come back here and receive your next mission."

We nodded as the information sunk into the crevices of our brains. That's when I had to ask the ultimate question.

"Isn't this supposed to be for Jounins and up, Kakashi-sensei?"

I guess that Sensei didn't take that into consideration when she decided to have us perform one of the most dangerous tasks known to Konoha. I looked at Kakashi-sensei for a minute longer before I managed to get some kind of hit on the older ninja. He theatrically fell backwards almost as if I had hit him harder than I actually did. I smiled and rolled my eyes just as hana-sensei showed up. It was just past dawn, so she said that she was ready to get going on this mission.


End file.
